Helping children play and learn together

The preschoolers in Ms. Mimi's classroom are very busy throughout the day, working on emerging pretend-play skills, turn taking, conflict management, phonological awareness, math knowledge, and other academic, behavioral, and social skills. Ms. Mimi knows that young children's readiness for school comes with increased expectations for academic skills, but she worries that her preschoolers are not getting enough experience with social skill building. When her supervisor comes for a visit, Ms. Mimi shares her concern that she may not be meeting her preschoolers' social needs. She says, "Some days I find myself worrying so much about teaching literacy, numeracy, and all the other academic skills that I wonder if the children have enough opportunities to learn how to get along with each other."